


By The Yule Fire

by RobNips



Category: RWBY
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/F, Falling In Love, Fluff, Holidays, I want Yule to be a thing in Remnant, Pre-Relationship, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Traditions, Volume 7 (RWBY), Yule, Yule is not christmas but its a similar vibe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:07:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28225107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobNips/pseuds/RobNips
Summary: Blake had never been that exposed to Yule - but Yang and Ruby seemed to live and breathe the holiday. With how Atlas has been running them ragged with missions, a loving tradition is welcome.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 6
Kudos: 41





	By The Yule Fire

**Author's Note:**

> If canon won't give us any world building for holidays, I simply must offer a version of ours - and what world wouldn't celebrate the solstices? 
> 
> Please Enjoy!

Blake was almost content to just smell the chocolate radiating from the Yule log, but the temptation overcame her. The cake - a perfect sponge with cinnamon and chocolate all mixed together - melted in her mouth, she couldn't help a sound of delight from escaping her. 

Yang grinned at her, beaming with pride. "Good?" 

Nora outright moaned from her spot on the other couch, talking between mouthfuls, "Absolutely! Yang's been holding out on us." 

"Hey," she laughed, Blake felt her chest warm at the sound. "I just followed the recipe. Ruby's the one who wanted cinnamon."

"For protection!" She huffed from her place. Blake just gave her a look and patted her shoulder, before going back to her cake. The others settled into casual conversation. 

She knew Yule was still popular all around Remnant - before Kingdoms, understanding the seasons were vital to survival - but Blake has never had a traditional celebration. Atlas still had lavish galas for the holidays. Most people made the log cake, strung up some evergreen and wreaths, maybe lit a small fire, but the original religious intentions are usually optional. 

Places like Vacuo and Menagerie put more emphasis on the summer solstice, if any at all, and growing up on the road, Blake's family hadn't put a lot of effort into holidays. She didn't mind, there were other moments she could look back fondly on. 

Ruby and Yang though, they lived for Yule. Their Atlas dorm had evergreen decorations strung up on every wall, candles littered the counters, a wreath was between their beds, and their Yule log for burning had been chosen over a week ago. Blake didn't mind this either. Last year there had been no celebration for any of them, she wasn't going to be the one to question them going all out. 

With how happy it made Yang, even with everyone together crammed in their dorm, Blake didn't want anyone crushing her joy. 

Cake was also a plus. 

"Oh man," Yang started laughing when Jaune pointed out their wreaths. "I always had to do them. Our dad is so bad at weaving. Fat fingers." 

"Probably didn't help that Zwei always liked to eat berries off of them." Ruby added with a giggle. 

"Oh my gosh! Yeah! And he'd puke by the fireplace!"

Ruby started hitting Yang's arm, the memories coming back quickly. "That was his favorite spot!" 

Blake smiled at the both of them, and sent a mostly sympathetic look to Weiss when she covered one of her ears. Ruby and Yang did have a tendency to get...excited around one another. Squealing included. Blake just forked the last piece of her cake into her mouth. 

“Hey kids,” Qrow sounded from the doorway, cutting off the sisters. He jerked his head down the hall. “It’s past sunset. You ready?” 

“Yup!” Ruby was on her feet in a second, grabbing their log and holding it close to her chest. The others started gathering their plates, grabbing their gear to head out to the tundra.

Blake shifted in her seat, pushing around frosting left on her plate. Her stomach twisted at the thought of intruding. She wouldn’t know what to do, if they started singing she’d be completely lost, and-

“Hey,” Yang offered a hand, cutting off Blake’s thoughts. Her eyes were bright, but Blake saw the hint of worry in them. “Don’t you want to come? It’s just like a bonfire.” 

“I know, I..” she shrugged a shoulder. “I’ve never done it before, I guess. I don’t want to make it awkward.” 

Yang outright laughed, and placed her hand over Blake’s. “It’s not really that big of a deal. Nora and Ren said they didn’t celebrate either. Qrow’s bringing Clover along. And it’s about family! The people you’re close to and all that, and,” She nudged her shoulder lightly. Blake felt her heart race at the look in Yang’s eyes. Genuine, honest, and affectionate - if Blake wasn’t kidding herself. “You’re important to me like that.” 

Blake felt heat rise in her cheeks, and she squeezed Yang’s hand back. She didn’t want to let go. “You are too, to me.” She smiled, and let Yang pull her up from the chair. 

They didn’t let go of each other, from the dorm, to the airship, to the tundra dotted with fires from other families and communities. Some with whole blocks of people, some with a small family huddled together for warmth. They were close to Mantle, but nobody seemed worried about Grimm. Blake realized there must not be any real feelings of negativity, and smiled. She settled next to Yang, letting their shoulders brush each other’s until they touched down. 

Their fire was lit with a bit of help from Dust. Blake watched with respectful curiosity as Ruby mumbled something to herself before setting their log into the flames. Embers puffed out and swirled into the sky. Nora started cheering, and the others clapped before settling around the fire. Even Qrow, who Blake always noticed would hang back if they were together, came to sit between Ruby and Clover. It almost seemed too simple. 

“You should see the ceremony at the Celestial Mother’s temple.” Yang scoffed - because of course she knew exactly what Blake was wondering. “Our mom took me one time. It basically lasts all day.” 

Blake hummed. She hadn’t realized Yang ever paid attention to temples, she never mentioned them. Let alone that her mother was a member. Blake searched for something to say. “I’m guessing the still reflection wasn’t exactly your speed?”

“Hey!” Yang laughed, and bumped their shoulders. She made Blake relax again, they never needed to overthink their conversations. “Okay, yeah. Not really. But I liked the baking, and the decorating. She always put all this effort into it.” Blake watched her almost trail off, before sighing. “I guess it was just for us, though. Since, well, she had to know about the two Brothers.” 

Yang sighed, and Blake held in hers too. She supposed she could understand part of that. She had thought of it as soon as Ironwood told them he’d tell the world about Salem. Religions would be upturned - for the few who still followed them. There would no doubt be those who would ignore what was true, follow what they believed instead. Blake couldn’t even fault them - she had known that the White Fang had gone down the wrong path, and it had taken her so long to finally leave them. She couldn’t imagine leaving a community that hadn’t even done anything wrong. 

Blake laid her other hand over theirs, still intertwined. They were close enough that their hips, thighs, and knees touched. Blake let their arms press against each other too. "You have some great memories of the time, anyway.” 

“That’s true.” Yang sighed into the cold air, breath curling upwards. “The skies weren’t like this in Vale.” She was changing subject, but Blake didn’t mind. She took a moment to look at the wonder in Yang’s eyes, before following her gaze to see the bright streaks of green and blue auroras.

“It is beautiful.” She said, squeezing her hand again. “Thanks for making me come.”

“Of course.” Yang’s smile returned. Blake was content to just see that look on Yang’s face for the rest of the long night. 

They must have stayed like that for a noticeable time, because Ruby cleared her throat to make them look. She held out scraps of napkins before starting to give each of them one. “Okay, old school traditions time. This academy has like, no paper,” she sent a look to Clover, who just grinned and held up his hands in surrender good naturedly. “So appreciate my efforts.” 

Blake took her half-napkin and pen with a gracious nod. Yang poked Ruby with her’s before they moved on. Weiss was visibly trying to not look unimpressed. “What exactly are we doing-”

“The sun is returning!” Ruby announced triumphantly. “And so is a new day, blah blah blah, you write down your hopes for the coming spring, and they'll grow! Or wishes that rise with the sun? Something about fire welcoming the sun back, or...something like that. The point is that you burn it to make it happen.” 

“You give a riveting sermon, kiddo.” Qrow called from the other side of the fire. Ruby stuck her tongue out. 

Blake just laughed when Yang rolled her eyes and turned to her napkin. Hopes or wishes? Blake didn’t know where to start. Between Mantle, and Amity, and wherever Salem might be - she had just stared at her napkin, while Yang had scribbled something down, folded it, and started to watch everyone else. 

She seemed to notice Blake’s hesitation. “It’s a lot easier when you’re a kid.” 

Blake smirked. “Did you write down a toy that you want?” 

Yang scoffed and pushed her shoulder. “It’s a secret, actually.” She said, before quieting again. “No asking for world peace, though. It’s something real. That you can work towards. Or, that’s what we were told.” 

She shrugged casually, Blake just took her hand again. She didn’t want her to be coy about her traditions. Still, Blake waited until she looked away to write a single word down on her paper. 

Ruby started the line of casting the napkins into the fire. She watched it catch the flames, curling up as ash and smoke started from the pit. Ren followed, then Nora, and then the rest of them. Blake tossed her’s in before Yang, who let out a breath of relief as her paper quickly turned to ash. 

“Something good?” Blake asked when Yang came to sit down again. 

“Yup.” She held up an arm, which Blake took as a sign to lean against her. She didn’t hesitate, something told her this was exactly what they were supposed to be doing. “Your’s?”

“Secret!” Blake chided with an elbow to Yang’s ribs. She laughed in the way that made Blake’s heart flip. “But yeah,” she said quietly, watching two embers dance around each other as they rose above the fire. “It’s something I know will be with me for a long time.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Take a WILD guess as to what they wrote ;) 
> 
> The actual traditions and origins of Yule intrigue me greatly. I like to think its one of our holidays that Remnant would also come around to celebrating one way or another (and with how free form paganism/witchcraft has become, rather easily adaptable to the world, too). Also if CRWBY ever did a World of Remnant on religions...i'd have a field day lol 
> 
> Let me know what y'all think! Our bees needed some holiday cheer imo so I hope it brought you some too - Thanks for reading!


End file.
